Review: Mount Ida, Arkansas and Quartz Crystal Digging Vacation

If you want to go quartz crystal digging, Mount Ida, Arkansas is one of the best places to do so. Here are my experiences while in the quaint little town. Hopefully your visit will be the same, if not better! In my opinion, there is no better quartz digging location in Mount Ida!

My husband, two children, and I took a trip to Mount Ida, Arkansas in the later part of May, 2008. It was our intention to stay a few nights, see what the town had to offer, and go quartz crystal digging.

Mount Ida is known as the quartz crystal digging capital of the world, drawing thousands and thousands of visitors from across the globe. Mount Ida is also known for providing the majority of quartz crystals to the military for use in weaponry or technical devices. In many cases, the quartz movements in watches also come from Mount Ida, Arkansas.

The entire town has a southern charm atmosphere. Everybody is friendly (except for one couple, which I will get to later on), and you feel like you belong in this town rather than being there as a visitor. Your quartz crystal digging vacation in the area will be very pleasant!

My husband called ahead of time to arrange for our accommodations. We chose a small RV park which is on the outskirts of town to the east called Marilyn's Antiques and RV park, which is right next door to the Crystal Inn and Restaurant. Our quartz crystals digging vacation in Mount Ida was off to a wonderful start! We paid $60 a night for a beautiful, brand new, full sized, fully stocked, and fully equipt motor home. We were more than pleased with our stay, with flowers and beautiful landscaping all around. The caretaker was exceptionally accommodating, treating us as if we were long lost relatives or something. Everyone else around the campsite was friendly as well. A few people were semi-permanent residents, while others had just hooked up for the evening. The campsite was well maintained, the water was sweet and fresh, and we slept better than we ever have while on vacation. In addition, there were huge crystals sitting all over the place outside our camper, where other people who had enjoyed quartz crystals digging had left some of their bounty for the enjoyment of others.

During this first evening in town we went to the visitor's center of Mount Ida, Arkansas. We were again greeted with a sincere warmth, welcomed with open arms. I wonder if perhaps the quartz crystals create an atmosphere where people are just friendlier? Maybe its the high mineral content in the water that nourishes people and reduces stress/anxiety/anger. Who knows! In any case, the ladies in the visitor's center answered all of our questions about quartz crystals digging and then some, and were eager to answer more or help us out more if we had only given them the opportunity. We left with a huge bag full of information on all of the different quartz crystal digging mines in Arkansas, places to eat, places to stay, what to do, and so forth.

We stopped at various rocks and quartz crystals digging shops, which are scattered all around the entire town. One shop in particular, The Rock Doc, where Jerry and Judy Mullin are the owners. Let me tell you, if you ever wanted to know about or to find rare and exotic stones, they are the people to go and see. Jerry is brilliant when it comes to gemstones and different types of rocks. I was so impressed, in fact, that I literally took the family home to the RV camper and returned to the shop by myself, spending two whole hours talking about different stones and all the rare items they had to offer. Of all the different stores we visited, these two people and this store was the most amazing. One thing is for sure, when we return to the area, I will make a point to go back and see them!

Here is a website that shows a picture of the couple, alongside a few of the thousands of gemstones they have in their shop: (scroll almost to the bottom to find them)

http://www.mtidachamber.com/yp_crystals.htm

We noticed that nobody seemed concerned with locking up or securing the huge quartz crystals sitting outside. Some shops had crystal clusters worth a couple hundred dollars just laying around outside, nobody really watching them. In other shops around town, people were so accommodating that we felt welcomed rather than eyeballed or scrutinized like what happens in other parts of the country. It seems that the town operates on an honor system, a real honor system, one that I have never before experienced in my life. My husband spoke to some of the local officers for the town, who told him that there is little to no crime at all in Mount Ida. And, if and when there is any crime, the criminals have a hard time getting out of town without getting caught since there is only a couple of highways and no country backroads that are open to the public. Perhaps the rich prospects of quartz crystals digging make people not want to steal or do wrong. Who knows!

We ate at a few different establishments during our quartz crystals digging vacation in Mount Ida, but two locations stand out the most. The first, a pizza joint located in the downtown area, had a supper buffet that stayed constantly stocked with good, hot, fresh, hand-tossed and home-made tasting pizzas, along with a big salad bar and two kinds of soup. The price was exceptionally reasonable too, considering the amazing quality of the pizzas and other items. We were able to stuff ourselves silly for a fraction of the price we would pay at McDonald's!

The second location left much to be desired, and it was this location where the not-so-nice couple of Mount Ida was encountered, Crystal Inn and Restaurant. In fact, the encounter was so bad that I made a report to the better business bureau about false advertising and bad customer service. The sign outside read "Seafood buffet", and when my husband called we were told that there was "more than thirty seafood items like all types of shrimp, crab, clams, and more, and it was all supposedly very good. We got inside and found the buffet to be much different. My kids were even charged full price, even though my daughter was only 5 years old and ate like a bird. My report was long and quite detailed, but nothing was ever done to recover even a fraction of our meal price, nor did we receive so much as an apology. I could detail it out here, but instead, just remember that this restaurant is not known for stellar customer service. When I talked to some local residents of Mount Ida, they said that the couple is known for their hatefullness and rude attitudes, and the only people who frequent the establishment tend to be travelers who don't know any better and old men who live next door and go there for coffee. So, if you go there, and you get treated the same way, don't say that somebody didn't warn you!

Out of the numerous quartz crystal digging mines, we chose Gee and Dee Crystals. We had heard that this was owned by an older couple, that it was family friendly, and one of the better places to go in town. Information about this mine and many others can be found at this website:

http://www.mtidachamber.com/yp_crystals.htm

If you want information for the exact quartz crystals digging mine that we visited, scroll about half way down through the page. I also found some reviews on tripadvisor.com about Gee and Dee Crystals, and the reviews are right on and accurate.

We went for most of the day to this mine, digging to our hearts content. The owners are exceptionally helpful, and again, are welcoming so much that you feel like you just got a big spiritual hug. We found tons of beautiful and some unusually shaped crystals. Unlike some of the other crystal digging mines in the area, you get to dig right into the hillside. You are not forced to dig around in dirt they have already dug up, although that is available if you wish. You get to dig where nobody has dug before and get right down into the good crystals! I sat down on the side of the hillside road for awhile in the shade and was pulling out crystal after crystal. Later I went right down to where the pit is roped off (its a big hole that says "danger, no entry". You can see the bottom of it, but the pit is not smooth for walking! So in our vacation pictures, here I am sitting down digging for crystals while right behind my head is this "no entry" sign. Ha!

This mine also has a working bathroom, complete with flushing toilet and running water faucet with soap. Other quartz crystals digging mines have no public restroom and expect you to walk a good mile to their facilities.

Children are free, while adults pay $20 each for an entire sun up to sun down day's digging pass. Senior citizens pay $15. You get free crystals too, and big ones, which you get to choose for yourself from a dozen or more tables as a part of your admission. We did not visit any other mines, however, we were so pleased with this one that when we return to Mount Ida we will go back.

Word of advice on quartz crystals digging, especially for this mine:

1) Drive a truck or SUV. The road to the mine has some sharp hills (natural speed bumps) and compact cars can easily scrape bottom.

2) Wear old clothes. The quartz crystals are encased in red clay which will permanently stain your clothes. Plan to throw away whatever you wear out there, including your shoes.

3) Bring a picnic lunch with you so that you can stay all day long!

4) Plan to take a truck bed full home with you. They have these huge, amazing "yard rocks" that are just covered in quartz crystals and shine with clarity and brilliance!

5) When choosing a quartz crystals digging mine, call ahead. Make sure that it is open to the public, that it has a restroom nearby the digging site (and be specific with your questioning), and running water is available. Also, ask if you can drive right up to the dig site or if you have to walk a great distance. Some mines require a mile or so walk!

Overall we had a wonderful visit in Mount Ida. In fact, we loved it so much that for a time we desperately wanted to sell our house and relocate there!

Here is a brief slideshow with some of the pictures we took while on our vacation at Mount Ida.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/13641/pictures_of_crystal_digging_vacation.html?cat=16